Auck City move clear; Dragons rise to fifth
Auckland City have moved clear at the top of the national men’s football league heading into the Christmas break.
They went behind early against a spirited Tasman United at Kiwitea St on Sunday, but their class ultimately shone through, as they eased to a 3-1 win – their sixth in a row.
Their closest rivals, Team Wellington, could only manage a 0-0 draw at home against Southern United, and now sit two points back.
Eastern Suburbs moved up to third, with a 2-0 win over Waita¯ kere United. They both have 14 points, three less than Team Wellington, and are joined by Canterbury United, who have 13, in the top half of the table.
Auckland City, Suburbs and Canterbury all have a game in hand in the ISPS Handa Premiership, as do the Wellington Phoenix reserves.
At Kiwitea St, Tasman took the lead in the 14th minute, when Brian Kaltack rose at a corner and smashed his header past keeper Enaut Zubikarai – the first league goal Auckland City had conceded in almost 300 minutes.
They weren’t deterred however, even if they did miss their leading scorer, Emiliano Tade, and began to create chance after chance, forcing Tasman keeper Alex Britton to pull off a few fine saves.
In the 38th minute, they equalised, when the unlikely figure of Darren White sent a header into the net, and less than four minutes later, they were in front, through Ryan de Vries, who added another from the penalty spot late in the second spell.
In the late kickoff on Sunday, Andre de Jong scored a pair of first half goals as Suburbs beat Waita¯ kere at Trusts Arena in the East-West derby. The hosts came at Suburbs hard in the second half, but Danny Hay’s side were able to hold on and grab their first win since round three.
Team Wellington would have been disappointed not to come away with more than a point on Sunday, where they drew 0-0 with a Southern United outfit that was reduced to 10 men five minutes into the second half in the capital. Sam Carmichael was dismissed, after picking up a second yellow for a rash challenge, but the Southerners held on to claim a point. At the halfway stage of the season, they already have one more point than they managed in their entire 2016-17 campaign.
Canterbury United moved up to fifth on the back of a comprehensive
win over Hawke’s Bay United at English Park on Sunday – their fourth victory in their five past outings.
Stephen Hoyle, Travis Nicklaw, and Gary Ogilvie all scored in the first half, the latter from a penalty he won.
After that, Hawke’s Bay had no response – they have only scored seven goals all season, the worst mark in the league.
They have nine points and join Southern and Tasman, who have 11 and 10 respectively, in a group of three teams who are by no means out of the playoff race. The Wellington Phoenix reserves have nine points as well, but aren’t allowed to qualify for the playoffs.
Nevertheless, they continued their good run of recent form on Saturday, coming from behind to defeat Hamilton Wanderers 3-1 at David Farrington Park.
The Wanderers are without a win in their 19 games in 2017.